EQG: Sword Art Online - Ruby Palace

Episode 84.2 — The Boys Are Back
First Day in the Month of Loquat (May 1) in the Year of the Griffon
Front Line — Floor 60

They were still pushing the front line on Floor 60. Despite running overnight, their day was only half over. As they walked out into the early morning, they saw a group of tired, but friendly, faces. It was Fuurinkazan and they had not seen them.

Bladescape decided to play coy. She slowly clapped three times to get their attention and patronize them. "Took you guys long enough. Some men you are! The girls beat you to this place by more than twelve hours."

"What happened to Reisenki and Kiefer?" Klein poked back. "Don't tell me you kicked them out for being guys. Or did you, doll face?"

It was a horrible push to get "doll face" inserted in the conversation.

Klein's face froze as he realized what the rest of Fuurinkazan already had. Klein had forgotten about Knightstar's departure.

Bladescape played it off well. "We don't kick anyone out." Bladescape grinned wickedly. "We whipped them into their proper place.”

Reisenki broke down laughing, unable to keep it together longer with how tired he was. He set off a chain reaction as all of the members from both guilds laughed.

"Did you girls just wake up?" Dale asked.

"Nah," Natora shrugged. "We have several more hours to go before we turn in. We cleaned out the four quests we could find, just turning in the last one a short while ago. Not sure if there are any others now that we have helped the village out a bit more."

"What's the plan?" Klein asked.

"All out of cupcakes," Konpeito warned. "They're too hard to pack for missions past twenty-four hours. Which is why they taste so good! They're always fresh!"

"We know where you live," Dynamm grinned. "And we aren’t afraid to track you down."

They all were tired and broke down laughing again before better jokes could be exchanged.

"HEY! YOU! HELP!" They all turned to look at the male NPC running through the street to them in a panic.

"What's up?" Bladescape asked.

"We...the…" he struggled to say as he was forced to try and get air into his virtual lungs. The game was annoyingly detailed at times. "The mine to the south, the active one, had a collapse. Can you help?"

"Yes," Bladescape nodded. She shifted focus to the others. "Everyone, just dump the drops into guild storage. We can sort it later."

They quickly used their menus to transfer the heavy ore, weapons, and other junk - like the moose heads - that they could. The main reason was to assist in lightening their loads in any way possible and making it easier to move heavier objects. In the mine, they could always store the rocks in their inventory to move them faster. Another part of it was with hope that they could get more of the ore from the rubble.

Fuurinkazan also had the quest triggered and they rushed off after the NPC. The gossip from the other NPCs they passed in the town was full of concern over the collapse. The mine wasn't far. The collapse had happened further in. They couldn't see it from the mouth of the mine

"If we go in and it collapses more," Klein said, speaking what they were all thinking. "And too many of us don't have helmets. What happened to Malus' helmet?"

Malus was honest, but aloof about it. "Miner flag boss from the last quest we did drove his pickaxe into my head, shattering it."

"Wha-" Klein started. He smartly dropped it to focus on the real matter at hand.

"Screw it," Malus exclaimed. "This cattle drive ain't gonna drive itself!"

Malus began to jog into the mine. Reisenki passed Bladescape and Klein before either of them could react.

"Oh what the heck," Klein shrugged.

Bladescape sprinted into mine. "The girls are beating you to the punch!"

Klein growled as he scrambled after her.

Natora took charge outside. “Doom, Thunder, and Soryuto, stay outside with me. We'll keep everyone clear.”

The rest of their guilds rushed into the mine. Malus and Reisenki were already at the collapse and moving rocks.

"We have to be smart!" Bladescape exclaimed as she was passed a rock. She passed it to Klein and they got the chain going. "If it collapses on us-"

"I know!" Malus growled. "This isn't my first time baling hay in a termite-eaten barn. You got a better idea? We ain't got Knightstar to run a calculation, an even if we did, we ain't got time for em.”

Bladescape took a giant rock that was hard for her to move. She passed it to Klein and it slipped from his hands, crushing his toes. Klein swore as his HP lost a noticeable chip.

"Not that strong there, are you, samurai man?" Bladescape joshed.

"What does that make you then?" Klein asked as he sucked in air in a vain attempt at ending the pain. "Some sort of freak?"

"Nah. That's Malus." Bladescape shrugged. "I guess we won't move that one."

"I'm strong, but an agility and defense build," Klein added. "You?"

"Agility and strength," Bladescape answered.

Agility, speed, strength, defense, and health were the passive build factors that players used to customize their stats in Aincrad. Every time a player leveled up, they got a few points to assign. Leveling up always increased all stats, but that was a scaled increase based upon each level, with a slight factor for play style or current stats. Typically a player focused on two complimentary passive stats. Health was something most players idly increased with leftover points.

Most tanks were defense and health builds, with plenty increasing their strength to offset heavier weapons and armor. Reisenki was the odd one out as an agility, strength, and defense build. Forwards varied by their play style, but many were split with two primaries like strength and agility or defense and agility. Plenty went with a balanced increase of all base stats. Others took a triadic route, focusing on three stats. Damage dealers typically went with agility and speed, although players like Konpeito or Agil chose strength and either agility or speed.

They all stopped as the world around them shook. Rocks fell from the ceiling and they held their breath. After a minute of silence Malus was again moving rocks.

"Almost there," Malus grunted. "I can see a glow from a lantern."

"We are right here," someone said from on the other side. "But it's not stable. It collapsed for a reason. I don't think you can get to us."

Malus grunted. "We ain't gonna abandon y'all without puttin’ up more of a fight."

Bladescape made a judgment call. "Harry, you have the strength. Diemond, you too. The rest of you, get out. We have enough room to move the stones around us without blocking the exit. Go! Before we all get trapped."

Dynamm started to protest. "But-"

"No butts, Dynamm," Bladescape interjected. "Go before you block our ability to sprint out of here! Get clear so we can get clear!"

The others vacated with haste. Reisenki tossed aside a small boulder and then Malus pushed a rock through at the top, making a hole.

"It's hot in here," Klein said, wiping sweat from his brow. "There’s no airflow. How many do we have to get out?"

"There are ten of us," the voice on the other side said.

"One at a time through the opening," Malus ordered them. "Let's go! Time ain't our friend."

The first trapped Miner, a young lad, came up to the hole. Malus and Reisenki grabbed him and practically yanked him through. Bladescape and Klein grabbed him from their arms and they got him moving out of the mine. The next one was also a young lad. After that they were family men who had wives and children waiting for them above.

As they pulled the sixth one out, the walls shook and Bladescape ducked, covering her head from the pieces of rock falling on her. They waited patiently, seeing if they could push their luck. The seventh man fell as his slick arms slipped from their grasp. It was a nasty impact.

Harry One scooped him up and began to run him to the surface.

"Kolens is injured," the NPC on the other side said. "We were focusing on getting the younger guys out."

"Pass him through," Malus said.

It was a battle. Kolens was dead weight. Dragging him out of the opening destabilized the barrier. It was the only thing holding the ceiling in place. Diemond took him and carried him out.

Klein and Bladescape backed up a bit. They didn't need to be right there, in the way. The next one came out. He was an older man, but walking. He shuffled off to the surface under his own power.

As the tenth and final man was trying to shimmy out, he had no friends behind him to help push him through, the wall gave way. Everything began to collapse again. Malus's shield suddenly popped onto her arm and she threw it up to face the ceiling.

"Run!" Malus grunted.

Reisenki grabbed the NPC as things began to crumble. He yanked him into his back and started to sprint to the surface. Klein was right behind him.

Bladescape turned to run, but a chunk of the ceiling stopped that.

"Go!" Malus ordered her as the mine destabilized. They were in a death trap.

Bladescape was shoved forward by Malus. She started to fall but a firm hand caught the back of her cloak and kept her up. It shoved her forward again, on a more solid footing.

Bladescape glanced back and saw Malus blocking them from falling rocks with her shield. The Iron Bulwark didn't bow to anything in Aincrad. Not to any monster, any boss, or even the rock itself.

They got clear of the main collapse and they both sprinted to the surface, leaving the crumbling stone to fall where it wanted.

Bladescape made it clear and looked back. She realized that, in the sprint, she had left Malus further behind than she had initially thought. Her heart stopped as she heard the mine continue to collapse and the ground shook.

The other Wondercolts had kept the NPCs back enough that they were not in the way of the exit. They all anxiously watched the mineshaft’s entrance. The seconds ticked by with no one coming out and the sounds from inside going from a rumble to an angry growl.

Malus finally emerged, coughing and covered in a layer of mud. The virtual dust had collided with her virtual sweat. Sometimes it was nice how the system did or didn't replicate the real world. This was not one of those times.

"Done," Malus said, standing tall. It lasted only a moment as she began a coughing fit. They got her water and sat down among the mining equipment.

The NPCs began to cheer and the foreman walked over to them. Thanking each of them with a bow and with words. What he said was the typical NPC thanking scripts that most of the quests ended with. What really mattered to Bladescape was that Malus was safe. That they all were safe. It netted them solid XP, based on how many men they rescued, and a good amount of Col too, also based on each man rescued. They got all ten out, reaping the full reward.

"That was the dumbest quest I have ever done," Klein stated. "What was the point of that?"

Bladescape shrugged, letting out another sigh of relief. "I don't know. We have been doing odd things, most being normal, easy, quests. This was...well I don't know what it was, but we made it out and got all ten miners out, that’s what matters. Malus has had one hell of a day."

"Did she say a pickaxe in her head?" Klein asked.

Bladescape chuckled. "Yeah. I pulled it out of her skull. The boss led a gang that was in an abandoned mine. Smashed right through her helmet, destroyed it, and took out almost all of her HP. You have seen her aggressive defense. She was that, but on offense. We lived, saved the kid as an extra reward, and walked out alive."

“Now what?" Klein asked. The question might have been directed at Bladescape, but anyone was open to answering it.

"Well, it's not even noon yet," Bladescape said, checking the time. "We had planned on taking it easy for the rest of the day by clearing the fields. We have been up for over twenty-four hours, no major breaks. We have a few more hours in us, but then it is home to sleep before getting up and hitting the Floor again."

"You girls are insane," Klein said, shaking his head.

"It keeps us on top," Bladescape shrugged.

"Yeah, but as much as I envy you for that, I don't," Klein stated. "I only have so much energy. At some point, I have to worry about living and staying sane. What about you? Do you have a hobby yet?"

"Yeah," Bladescape chuckled. "I did a solo quest the other day that required me to be trained not just to ride on a horse, but fight on horseback. The quest was alright, but the horse, now that I enjoyed. Turns out, I have a lot of fun riding horses and, as a bonus, it doesn't require a Skill."

"I don't think I would do well on a horse," Klein replied. "I hear they are hard."

“Can't be that much more difficult than IRL,” Malus said with a shrug. “Still, it ain't ever caught my eye as somethin to do here. I'll keep my fishin pole.”

Bladescape shrugged. "I was doing the quest for a specialty info broker and they paid for me to be taught by a player with both real life and Aincrad equestrian skills. I picked it up pretty quick."

Natora stepped over to Bladescape and Klein. "Now what, leaders?"

"I'm down for field clearing," Klein started. "Looks like the quests are dry here, for now. Then again, we're not back in the town to see what's going on there."

"Let's regroup there to make sure," Bladescape suggested. "Then we can set up teams and systematically begin to sweep the area, eliminating every monster we can before the others arrive."

Klein agreed and they headed back to the town.

"You guys got ahead of us all by quite a bit," Klein commented. "The DDA went east, the KoB north, and you took west. There wasn't much to the south since we started there, but only one village or town was to the west, and here we are. In the exact opposite of where the Labyrinth will be."

"Might be," Bladescape corrected him. "You know that it's never the same. The pillars hold the labyrinth, but where that pillar is doesn't equate to where the entrance to that Floor was. On forty-four, the points were right on top of each other. Instead, we rushed around, storming the entire floor and then took another week finding it right back where we had started."

"Regardless, we have two or three field bosses to find and eliminate," Klein said. "And I don't sense they are out in this quadrant."

"So what brought you here?" Bladescape asked.

"Avoiding the DDA," Klein said with a shrug. "Another verbal argument and the KoB was being snobbish and elitist."

"They can put on that air," Bladescape said. "And it can be annoying."

"Well, we can deal with them later," Klein said. "The town looks stable. I was almost expecting it to be on fire."

Bladescape snorted a chuckle. After the mine collapsed, that wasn't an unfounded concern. "Well, no smoke, no fire. Let's set up our parties and clear this place of the pests outside of town."

They set up some fun teams. Unlike their prior team up in the catacombs, they were not looking at performance or anything in particular. It was mostly a pick your partner deal with no assignments. Natora, Thunderborne, Dynamm, and Doombunny teamed up to speed kill. Malus, Diemond, Reisenki, and Harry One decided they wanted to "Tank out their frustrations" by joining up so they could all get their hits in. Dale, Soryuto, Kiefer, Issin, and Konpeito partied up and were gone before anyone could check in with them.

"I guess that leaves you and me, doll face," Klein grinned.

Bladescape rolled her eyes. "Sure, but only if you ask nicely and then play fair. After all-"

"I know," Klein said, cutting her off. He didn't want to hear the rest of it. "Still, it will be fun to fight, side by side, guild leader and guild leader, alone together for the day."

"At least for the next few hours," Bladescape replied. "I'm safe, but we are on low sleep. The Wondercolts will turn in early."

"Then we better hit the field," Klein said, giving her a wink with his goofy grin.

Mob hunting with Klein was fun. The two of them were strong enough that either could play the defender if needed, but they rarely needed it. The better strategy was proactive action, dodging and striking rather than an outright block.

After a while, as they were hunting down the next respawn, Klein asked the question that had clearly been growing on his mind. "Look, you don't have to tell me, but you are obviously above me. Just how far are you?"

Bladescape leaned lightly against Harmonic Salvation, feeling the tip sink into the grassland under her weight. Klein might as well know. She, oddly, trusted him. "Well, I went into the Fifty-Nine Floor Boss raid one XP away from Level Eighty. Didn't get to there as we fought through the dungeon. Just missed it, but I'm glad. It was the better spot to level up at.”

Klein was shocked. "Eighty! I- I-I’m not even at Seventy! That’s insane!"

Bladescape sighed. She was tired as she looked at the virtual landscape around them. "I worked my butt off for it. I'm the highest Wondercolt. Most nights, I don't sleep. Or not that long. I can't even get a good night's sleep. There are no dreams for me in here either. Not a single one since we started. I put my energy into fighting. The stronger I am, the better I can protect my friends, and the stronger we are as a whole. I have outpaced them by a good deal now, even though the Wondercolts are rarely absent."

"You guys are the hardest working guild I know," Klein stated. "Then again, I don't exactly know how the Knights of the Bloodoath function, but I doubt they push themselves as hard as you guys do. Why push yourselves so hard?"

"Honestly," Bladescape said before pausing. "Well, literally a lifetime ago, me and my friends were known for fixing things around our school. Being the ones who stood up for what is right. We did some interesting stuff. Anyway, when SAO started, we learned to survive together, as a team, then picked up Kiefer, Reisenki, and Soryuto. We never hesitated to join the effort Diavel put together. Natora and I were trying to figure out how to organize a group effort when we ran into him and he was already setting it up. We’ve been tight together since, through thick and thin. Lind and Kibaou put us through quite a lot in those first twenty-five floors."

"And Knightstar?" Klein asked.

"She burned out," Bladescape admitted. "After an argument, she got stuck in her head, overthinking, no, she was already overthinking everything and that was the problem.

"And that is our Achilles' Heel. We push ourselves hard, shoulder heavy burdens, and gladly... But, the stress is tremendous. We deal with our own struggles as best as we can, but we can't always see how our friends are handling theirs because of our personal stress. Diemond is a great example because none of us realized just how much stuff she had made due to our other focuses. When Knightstar fell, she had no one to catch her. We're working on a plan to get her back. She shut herself off from us and that's not a good thing. Really it has fallen to Doom, her insistence, and the plan is in motion. I trust Doom, although I don’t know the details of the plan, just that it will take time."

"I'll catch you," Klein said. "Seriously, if you fall, I'll be there to either catch you or pick you up. You have more friends than just the other ten Wondercolts. Don't forget that."

Bladescape couldn't get a reply as a heavy yawn took the moment away. She tried to make up for it. "Thanks Klein. It's good to know that you are there. And Fuurinkazan too. The same goes to you. We will gladly back you guys up anytime. You weren't there for twenty-five."

"What do you mean?" Klein pressed.

"We have maybe a hundred and twenty, on a good day, at our Floor Boss raid meetings," Bladescape explained. "I know not everyone comes, so we have at least two hundred members of the Assault Team. Anyway, we send nearly a quarter of them into battle. Sure, we got better, casualties are infrequent and low, but a single boss taking out ten, fifteen, or hell, twenty players. That would be a significant blow to our progress. Clearing is one thing, being on the Assault Team is a different game. I've seen plenty of guilds quit. It makes…"

Klein gave Bladescape a little time to think. "It makes what?"

She decided to just tell Klein. She did trust him and he was another leader. He understood while the others, except Natora, wouldn't. Even Natora only held part of the responsibility Bladescape shouldered.

Bladescape shrugged. "I'm a combat build. I love combat and riding horses, and half of what I do on horseback is chase down low level bandits and kill them from horseback. As much as I'm a combat junkie, I'm beginning to wonder about how long I personally can go. But you can't tell the others that. I'm barely keeping them together as it is. I don't need their foundation shaken any more than it already was with Knightstar.

"Leading the Wondercolts and having to stay on top is a lot of pressure. Natora is a strategist and solid party leader, our flag bearer who is to my right, just a pace behind to ensure I’m out front. Knightstar fed me stats and data and gave us a lot of great information to choose the best path, but she was really only a supporting element, not a leader. Natora props me up as much as she can, but it's basically on my shoulders, which is why I promised a few players I would get a hobby after the last boss raid.

“I did and I got some much needed mental rest while questing and riding. It was really fun, even the quests. I also did some other, personal, things that will help me stay grounded and strong.”

Klein only needed to know that she was taking care of herself as best as she could, not about the tattoo. He would absolutely want to see it and become focused on it until he got his wish. It was her secret, her private retreat and trump card against the game and system.

"But this all goes beyond me,” Bladescape said. “Fuurinkazan is a small guild and we are not much bigger. Both of us are on the Assault Team for a reason. Some days I wonder how much longer the smaller guilds can keep it up on the front lines. Clearing is one thing, but Assault Team? Especially if we lose a lot like we did in the twenty-fifth floor boss raid."

"Your secret is safe with me," Klein said. "And I also wonder what we will do on the later floors. If we even can do it. That's something I personally have to think about because I'm their leader. Just me alone."

"Even with good friends, it gets lonely at the top," Bladescape said. “We will figure it out as those challenges come.”

"It's driving me nuts," Klein said, switching gears. "What did you pick up as your next Skill? There are only so many combat related Skills."

Bladescape snorted a laugh. "I let you know my Level. That’s as much as you are getting out of me."

"Awe, come on!" Klein protested. "It's going to take me ages to get eleven Skill slots. At least give me a taste of that power!"

Bladescape rolled her eyes. "Not even the others know my chosen Skills anymore. Knightstar wasn't even tracking my progress the past several months. The only way I would reveal that list is if I got married in the game and then only to my husband. Although I'm not familiar with that function of the game, outside some rumors, it might be readily available info to your spouse."

"Fine," Klein grumbled. His goofy grin turned mischievous.

A moose respawned and they were immediately charging at its location. Despite the conversation topic, they were as in sync with each other as they fought. They communicated well, clearly read each other’s nonverbal cues, and worked nearly flawlessly despite not always being side by side.

As the afternoon peaked, Bladescape organized their rendezvous. The tanks were in a jam outside another abandoned mine. They all met there, helping them clear all of the gang members out.

"Thanks, y'all," Malus said when they were done. "We had a barrel full of fun, bashed what we needed to, but we weren’t gettin outta that jam, least not quickly. Which was fine till now."

"No problem," Klein shrugged. "It was a fun way to end our time together."

“Anytime, dears,” Diemond said. “It's refreshing to be out with more than just Wondercolts.”

“We're heading into town, are you guys coming?” Bladescape asked.

“Nah, we'll stay out for a bit,” Klein replied.

The parties were all dissolved and the Wondercolts and Fuurinkazan said their farewells for the time being. They would certainly see them soon.

BLADESCAPE: Level 80 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint — Blade Throwing — Extended Weight Carry — Acrobatics — Greatsword
NATORA: Level 76 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Armor Pierce — Sprint
MALUS: Level 75 — One-Handed War Hammer — Heavy Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search — Martial Arts — Rend
THUNDERBORNE: Level 75 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce — Martial Arts — Blade Throwing
KONPEITO: Level 75 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing — Bard — Extended Weight Carry
DIEMOND: Level 76 — Mace — Heavy Shield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Light Metal Armor Forging — Heavy Metal Armor Forging — Extended Weight Carry — Jewelry Creation
DOOMBUNNY: Level 79 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Listen — Reveal — Main-gauche
KIEFER: Level 73 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense — First Aid — Katana — Battle Regeneration — Slash Weapon Forging — Blade Throwing — Armor Pierce
SORYUTO: Level 71 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Fighting Spirit — Armor Pierce — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry
REISENKI: Level 73 — One-Handed Axe — Heavy Shield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Cooking — Metal Refining — One-Hand Weapon Creation